What do the curly arrows in
[a mechanism] represent
physically? What moves, why
there and not elsewhere, and
what determines the order of
the steps.

What the Arrows Actually Mean

Electrons as things that move, not decoration on a page.

Prompt

Explain what the curly arrows in [a reaction mechanism] represent physically — what is moving, why it moves there and not elsewhere, and what determines the order the steps happen in.